Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Today we are talking to Dr Daniel Watson, who is a Bergin Fellow in the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. He tells us about philosophy in early medieval Ireland and that, contrary to popular belief, it has always been a part of the Irish intellectual tradition. Learn all about medieval Irish philosophy, where to find it and why it is important to study it. Thanks for listening!
Episode recorded on 15.05.2025.
Find the full list of people, texts and topics mentioned in the episode on our website: https://www.dias.ie/series/ni-hansae/
Select publications by Daniel:
Philosophy in Early Medieval Ireland: Nature, Hierarchy and Inspiration. PhD thesis, Maynooth University, 2018.
‘A Law Beyond Grace in the Prologue to Senchas Már’, Dionysius 36 (2018): 196–211.
‘The Mortal and Divine Histories of Mongán mac Fiachna in Cín Dromma Snechtai’, Celtica 32 (2020): 27–75.
‘Suidiugud Tellaig Temra “The Establishment of Tara’s Dominion”’. In Classical Antiquity and Medieval Ireland: An Anthology of Medieval Irish Texts and Interpretations, ed. by Michael Clarke, Erich Poppe & Isabelle Torrance, 367–380. London: Bloomsbury, 2024.
‘The Ends of the Earth: Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemni and Augustinian historiography’. In Ulidia 5: Papers from the Fifth International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, Maynooth 18–20 March 2016, ed. by Lára Ní Mhaoláin, David Stifter & Elizabeth Boyle, Maynooth Medieval Irish Texts, 73–108. Hagen: Curach Bhán, 2024.
‘Review Article: Ali Bonner, The Myth of Pelagianism, A British Academy Monograph (Oxford 2018)’, Irish Theological Quarterly 85.4 (2020), 421–34.
‘Ireland as the earthly culmination of translatio imperii in Suidiugud Tellaig Temra’, Bulletin for the Institute of Classical Studies (forthcoming).
‘From the Sensible to the Divine: Platonic Ascent without the Parmenides in Early Medieval Ireland’. In Irish Platonisms: Cultural Interactions from the Seventh to the Twentieth Centuries, ed. by Daniel James Watson and Isabelle Torrance. London: Bloomsbury (forthcoming).
(coediting with Isabelle Torrance), Irish Platonisms: Cultural Interactions from the Seventh to the Twentieth Centuries. London: Bloomsbury (forthcoming).
The School’s projects and publications:
Celtica: https://www.dias.ie/celt/celtica/
Annual conference (Tionól): https://www.dias.ie/celt/celt-conferences/celt-tionol/
Statutory Lectures & other Celtic Studies lectures (YouTube): youtube.com/watch?v=A7SCUtU_zmk&list=PLt_XradIp-myd7wGw1N3rnBiS-b-Suene
DIAS Bookshop: https://shop.dias.ie/
Irish Script on Screen (ISOS): https://www.isos.dias.ie/
Follow the School of Celtic Studies on social media:
BlueSky: @scs-dias.bsky.social
Instagram: @scs.dias
Website: https://www.dias.ie/celt/
To be added to our mailing list, contact eibhlin@celt.dias.ie
Copyright details
Sound and music remixed by Robert Scuta. Jingle produced by Silvan van der Zwaag of Studio Galassasa; the Irish fragment of Annie Uí Annluain is taken from the DIAS Glór recordings, with thanks to Dr Andrea Palandri. Logo designed by Nina Cnockaert-Guillou.
Production team: Dr Nina Cnockaert-Guillou, Dr Viktoriia Krivoshchekova, Robert Scuta.
Today we are talking to Dr Daniel Watson, who is a Bergin Fellow in the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. He tells us about philosophy in early medieval Ireland and that, contrary to popular belief, it has always been a part of the Irish intellectual tradition. Learn all about medieval Irish philosophy, where to find it and why it is important to study it. Thanks for listening!
Episode recorded on 15.05.2025.
Find the full list of people, texts and topics mentioned in the episode on our website: https://www.dias.ie/series/ni-hansae/
Select publications by Daniel:
Philosophy in Early Medieval Ireland: Nature, Hierarchy and Inspiration. PhD thesis, Maynooth University, 2018.
‘A Law Beyond Grace in the Prologue to Senchas Már’, Dionysius 36 (2018): 196–211.
‘The Mortal and Divine Histories of Mongán mac Fiachna in Cín Dromma Snechtai’, Celtica 32 (2020): 27–75.
‘Suidiugud Tellaig Temra “The Establishment of Tara’s Dominion”’. In Classical Antiquity and Medieval Ireland: An Anthology of Medieval Irish Texts and Interpretations, ed. by Michael Clarke, Erich Poppe & Isabelle Torrance, 367–380. London: Bloomsbury, 2024.
‘The Ends of the Earth: Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemni and Augustinian historiography’. In Ulidia 5: Papers from the Fifth International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, Maynooth 18–20 March 2016, ed. by Lára Ní Mhaoláin, David Stifter & Elizabeth Boyle, Maynooth Medieval Irish Texts, 73–108. Hagen: Curach Bhán, 2024.
‘Review Article: Ali Bonner, The Myth of Pelagianism, A British Academy Monograph (Oxford 2018)’, Irish Theological Quarterly 85.4 (2020), 421–34.
‘Ireland as the earthly culmination of translatio imperii in Suidiugud Tellaig Temra’, Bulletin for the Institute of Classical Studies (forthcoming).
‘From the Sensible to the Divine: Platonic Ascent without the Parmenides in Early Medieval Ireland’. In Irish Platonisms: Cultural Interactions from the Seventh to the Twentieth Centuries, ed. by Daniel James Watson and Isabelle Torrance. London: Bloomsbury (forthcoming).
(coediting with Isabelle Torrance), Irish Platonisms: Cultural Interactions from the Seventh to the Twentieth Centuries. London: Bloomsbury (forthcoming).
The School’s projects and publications:
Celtica: https://www.dias.ie/celt/celtica/
Annual conference (Tionól): https://www.dias.ie/celt/celt-conferences/celt-tionol/
Statutory Lectures & other Celtic Studies lectures (YouTube): youtube.com/watch?v=A7SCUtU_zmk&list=PLt_XradIp-myd7wGw1N3rnBiS-b-Suene
DIAS Bookshop: https://shop.dias.ie/
Irish Script on Screen (ISOS): https://www.isos.dias.ie/
Follow the School of Celtic Studies on social media:
BlueSky: @scs-dias.bsky.social
Instagram: @scs.dias
Website: https://www.dias.ie/celt/
To be added to our mailing list, contact eibhlin@celt.dias.ie
Copyright details
Sound and music remixed by Robert Scuta. Jingle produced by Silvan van der Zwaag of Studio Galassasa; the Irish fragment of Annie Uí Annluain is taken from the DIAS Glór recordings, with thanks to Dr Andrea Palandri. Logo designed by Nina Cnockaert-Guillou.
Production team: Dr Nina Cnockaert-Guillou, Dr Viktoriia Krivoshchekova, Robert Scuta.
